“……If that’s true, then why didn’t you say something sooner? You said Bori knew too, didn’t you?”
“Woo-rim’s a bit stubborn, you know.”
“Woo-rim, that means it’s even more of a bad idea for you to go alone. Just in case, let’s all go to the junkyard together. It’s outside the city, and something dangerous might pop out.”
“Exactly! Safety first!! Ahh, that feels good to say out loud! The three of us! Now this feels like a real team!”
By chance, I ended up with companions. After confessing everything, I felt somewhat relieved, and just as Bori Noona said, it did feel like we had become a team.
“Still, since it’s a personal quest, I think it’s best I go alone. I’m sure there won’t be any danger.”
“There he goes again! Stubborn, again!”
With the system’s blessing functioning almost like a cheat, it should be safe. However, they stubbornly insisted on following me…
The next morning, the three of us arrived at the disposal site.
“Whoa……”
The train that dropped us off near the towering mountain of garbage sped away into the distance.
Rolling up my sleeves, I checked the arrival time of the next train. It was scheduled for five days later, in the morning.
“Think we can comb through that whole mountain in five days?”
“Gotta try.”
“Yeah… Still, I’m glad we came. Three is better than one…”
The garbage dump was more of a landfill.
Sand hippos hauling rotted bones and shattered roof tiles would come by now and then to toss the trash, then trudge off again.
“So what exactly are we looking for here……?”
“The Lord of the Shadow Castle’s body.”
I said it simply, but it did not look simple at all. The landfill was so vast that its end was not even visible. Moreover, I had no clear idea how to find the Lord’s body or what form it would even be in.
I took out the Black Hand Gloves from my inventory and put them on. Then I thrust my arm deep into the enormous heap.
“Ahh… Woo-rim, careful……”
[System]: You can register keywords for the item you want to steal.
[System]: Registered keyword: ‘Lord of the Shadow Castle.’
After setting the search area, I slowly stirred my hand through the black mass. Then something clung to my hand as if drawn to it.
[System]: You have discovered the ‘First Child’s Fragment.’ Total fragments needed to complete the child: 1/15
“Ah, so you can find them right away with your skill, Woo-rim?”
“That’s right, Kebab.”
“What’s your class, Woo-rim?”
“Thief.”
“Whaaat. You’re a thief? The original thief? Or like, someone who just picked up the thief class…”
“The original thief.”
“That’s insane, right? I couldn’t believe it when I first heard it either.”
For a while, everyone had been clamoring about hunting down and punishing the thief, and that thief was me.
At first, the two of them helped me search for fragments, sleeves rolled up, but eventually, with nothing else they could do, they ended up lounging in a hammock made from shadows discarded on indestructible ironwood.
“Woo-rim, is it going okay?”
“You two bored?”
Yaaawn. “We’re fine.”
“Get some rest.”
Since the ‘Child’s Fragment’ could not be stored in the inventory, I tossed them into one spot nearby.
[System]: You have discovered the ‘Second Child’s Fragment.’ Total fragments needed to complete the child: 2/15
Then came the second fragment.
The third and fourth came relatively smoothly. But I could not find the fifth fragment even after seven hours had passed.
“We’ll need to move to a new area. Can you help carry the child’s shadow fragments?”
“Should we pack them into the suitcase so we don’t lose any?”
Surprisingly, Bori Noona’s suitcase was completely empty. She had brought it along just for the mood and to pack some local specialties she planned to buy… In any case, it was fortunate for me.
“Um, Bori. Putting fragmented shadows into a bag is kinda……”
“Yeah, I know. But at least they’re just black blobs, so it’s not too creepy…”
While they murmured among themselves, I shoved my arm into the second garbage heap.
[System]: You have discovered the ‘Fifth Child’s Fragment.’ Total fragments needed to complete the child: 5/15
But as time passed, the discoveries grew slower, and by the time I found the ninth fragment, eight days had already gone by.
“Woo-rim! We went to check out the Shadow Atonement Prison Tower! It was amazing!”
Three days ago, after lounging in the hammock and watching me work with vacant stares, the two of them had taken the train to the Shadow Atonement Prison.
“We brought some yummy stuff too. Let’s eat while we work.”
After returning from the Shadow Atonement Prison, Bori Noona’s suitcase was filled with all sorts of food and souvenirs. I pulled out a bag of dried desert fruit and tore it open.
“Woo-rim, how many baby fragments do you have left to find?”
“Just five more. And we still have ten more trash heaps to dig through.”
“Wow, so you’ve basically almost finished… Oh, but coming to the junkyard has one great perk! Kebab’s smell gets masked!”
“Ahaha, exactly. That’s why I can finally walk around with my shoulders back here.”
“You look good—keep that posture even outside this place. By the way, did you submit the branch application?”
Chewing on jerky with relish, Kebab answered with a serious look.
“They were firm on rejecting a full branch… so I only applied for a temporary dispatch station. Not even sure if that’ll be approved.”
“I see. Good call. Start small with the dispatch post first.”
“Apparently, one of the conditions for setting up a dispatch is that it has to be ‘on high ground.’ The prison tower runs on taller and bigger shadows as its base… or something like that…”
“What’s the reason for that?”
“According to a passing ghost, it’s just pure snobbery. They said it’s a symbolic statement—since shadows govern the world, the station must be placed atop the tallest building to reflect that power. The problem is, even a temporary post needs to be on a structure more than twice as tall as anything else in the city. So on the way back, Bori and I discussed it.”
“Yup.”
“That’s right, Woo-rim. If we have to install it somewhere high, wouldn’t it make more sense to expand the Shadow Castle’s bell tower rather than building a new tower from scratch? Also, before setting up a dispatch post, we apparently need to stack something called ‘Bound Shadow Orbs’ to solidify the foundation, but we can only get those after the dispatch is approved!”
“Is that so? Then we should at least begin expanding the building to meet the minimum condition they want. I’ll do everything I can to get the dispatch permit.”
“Do everything? How?!”
“The ghosts there really like foxes. If I lay out the contract and put on a performance in my baby fox form, maybe that’ll seal the deal.”
‘Everything gets solved if I dance’…
On second thought, that was an incredibly self-centered thing to say. But it actually seemed quite possible. I had already built rapport with them during vacation while playing board games together.
“The junkyard’s safe, so the two of you should head back to Shadow Castle. There’s no point in all three of us wasting time here. You can go ahead and start your quest.”
“What! Won’t you be lonely by yourself?”
“It’s better for one person to be bored than for three to be bored.”
“Ugh, you’re so efficient-minded! Fine, fine. We’ve got to keep commuting back and forth to the Shadow Atonement Prison for contract stuff anyway, so we’ll stop by often. Woo-rim, good luck!”
“Good luck, sir.”
After seeing them off, I got back to work. Three more days passed like that.
[System]: You have discovered the ‘Fifteenth Child’s Fragment.’ Fragments required to complete the child: 15/15
[System]: All child fragments have been collected.
At last, I had collected the final piece.
“……Haaah. Finally.”
I took some ice from the container Bori Noona had left, mixed it into concentrated coffee, and lay down in the shadow hammock set up nearby.
Swaying gently. Feeling the faint breeze brushing past, I closed my eyes.
“Mmm, that nap hit the spot.”
After a good rest, I began assembling the Child’s Fragments in earnest.
“Hm…”
But as time passed, instead of making progress, I found myself scratching my head more and more. I managed to fit two fragments together, but since this was a unique material formed from condensed shadow life force, even the matching pieces sparked intensely, making assembly incredibly difficult.
‘If only Jung Da-hoon were here, this would be nothing.’
Frustrated, I chewed on some ice, noisily rummaging through the container, and felt an aching longing. If I were not a possessor, I could have just taken photos with the extraction camera and shared them with Assembly King Jung Da-hoon for real-time help.
Nevertheless, after hundreds of persistent attempts, a rough shape finally started to take form.
“…Wait, this wasn’t a lower piece, it was an upper one.”
As the sun rose and set, and the moon came and went… by the time the sun rose again, I finally inserted the last piece.
“There. Done? Is it done?”
Even after aligning the pieces, the black mass remained still. I rummaged through my bag and pulled out the Golden Hour Hand.
Now… I pressed it firmly into the left chest of the form as it twitched and pricked my palm.
In the next instant, an enormous burst of light shot out from the figure. The gust of wind lifted my bangs and made my clothes flutter. My eyes stung fiercely, but I kept them open, staring at it till the end.
Its rolling eyeballs locked onto me. Calming my startled heart, I gently patted its head. The sparks that jumped at every touch soon settled.
“Gasp.”
The rolling eyes locked onto him and followed him deliberately. He stifled his surprise and gently patted the figure’s head. The sparks that had leapt up each time his hand touched it quickly subsided.
“Hi there.”
Whirrr.
The emaciated child made a strange noise as it raised its upper body.
“You’re really the lord?”
The child lowered its head weakly under my gaze, looking extremely fragile. This little thing was the Lord? Was that why the skeletons were so gentle, taking after their master?
Though… there were exceptions like those nasty skeletons, of course.
‘…Honestly, Castle Lord suits Kessler way more than this guy.’
The child silently looked around.
“It’s time to go home now. You need to go back.”
Dusting off my pants, I stood up and reached out my hand. The child, who had turned its head away and sat hesitantly, eventually grasped my hand after some hesitation.
